Nigerian athletes Kayinsola Ajayi and Samuel Ogazi delivered standout performances to claim the men’s 100m and 400m titles respectively at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships held on Friday, June 12, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States.
Representing Auburn University, Ajayi blazed to victory in the men’s 100m final, clocking a wind-assisted 9.72 seconds to secure his first NCAA outdoor title.
Although the time was faster than the African record of 9.77 seconds held by Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, a tailwind of +2.2m/s meant the performance could not be recognised for record purposes.
The 21-year-old improved on his fourth-place finish from last year and became the first Nigerian to win the NCAA men’s 100m title since Divine Oduduru achieved the feat in 2019.
Ajayi dominated the race, pulling away from the field in the closing metres. LSU’s Jaiden Reid finished second in 9.82 seconds, while Arkansas’ Jelani Watkins placed third.
The Nigerian had earlier won his semi-final on Wednesday, June 10, clocking 9.94 seconds despite a headwind of -1.1m/s. Reid followed closely in 9.95 seconds, equalling the Cayman Islands national record.
While the 9.72-second run will not count as an official record, it ranks among the fastest 100m performances ever recorded under all conditions and further cements Ajayi’s status as one of the world’s leading sprinters this season.
In the men’s 400m, Ogazi successfully defended his NCAA crown in remarkable fashion, setting both a Nigerian and NCAA record of 43.38 seconds.
Competing for the University of Alabama, the 20-year-old shattered the previous NCAA record of 43.61 seconds set by American Michael Norman in 2018.
The performance elevated Ogazi to fourth on the all-time world list, behind only South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk and Americans Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds.
Ogazi’s record-breaking run improved on his previous personal best of 44.02 seconds, set in May during Alabama’s regular-season finale against Georgia in Athens.
That earlier mark had already erased Innocent Egbunike’s long-standing Nigerian record of 44.17 seconds, which had stood since August 1987, ending a 38-year wait for a new national benchmark in the event.
Elsewhere, Ajayi’s Auburn teammate, Israel Okon, bounced back from disappointment in the 100m final, where he pulled up late and finished ninth, to produce an impressive display in the 200m.
The Nigerian sprinter finished second in 19.99 seconds, recording his best-ever finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
